Two-day weekend: A boon or a curse in Nepal?

The government has decided to grant public leave for two days on Saturday and Sunday with effect from May 15 at a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday.

With the topic of the two days weekend, NepalNews talks to people on different sector on what they really think about it:

Archana Khadka, Director of Nepal Airlines:

“I believe this two day weekend will help the hospitality and tourism business a lot. This will be a big boost for the internal tourists as people nowadays do not want to stay home and are always up for travelling,” she says. “This will also help circulate the economy in the country itself as well. And will help the transportation sector, hotels, as well as the airlines,” adds Khadka.

Bedh Prasad Panth, Principal of Geetanjali School & College:

“COVID has already affected the education sector a lot. Now that things are finally going back to normal and kids are back in the classroom the Government of Nepal (GoN) announced a two day weekend. The students finally got a habit to be back in the school and I believe this will hamper their habit again.” “This will affect teachers' working days and their lesson plans as well. We already have fewer working days due to other holidays and now with two day weekends it will be hard for them to finish the lesson in time before the examination,” explains Panth.

He adds, as for GoN saying this is to control the fuel usage, and then I do not think schools and colleges consume that much fuel to begin with. Government should keep the education sector in consideration while making decisions because it is for the future of not only the children but also the nation.

Dipak Shrestha, Owner of Gokarna House:

“While I do not know about what others are saying, for hoteliers and restaurant owners it is a problem. We already have a hassle to give a one day holiday to our staff members and now we need to give them two days! It is not a big deal for the Government to give their workers an off but for private sectors it is more of a problem,” exclaims Shrestha. “With the sector finally getting back on its feet, and with the expense increasing at an alarming rate, it is hard for us to just go on with our business and this two day weekend is putting more pressure,” he adds.

Hansa Ram Pandey, Senior expert of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FNCCI)

“As a person who is associated with the manufacturing company, it is better for us to be working for 6 days,” says Pandey. “This is my personal opinion but as the government has brought the rule under special circumstances I do not think it is on us to decide whether it is good or bad. As they are trying to reduce fuel consumption due to the growing price rate and scarcity, they did what they thought was needed,” he explains.

Pallav Rajbahndari,entrepreneur:

“Personally, I think it will give me more family time which will definitely help with my productivity. I have to be on the run every day and to know that I will get a two day break. It is a mental relief as well,” says Rajbhandari. “But that is just my personal point of view, as for professionally, COVID really took a toll in the business and we were finally looking up to it. So, it might not be possible for us to close our business for two days when things are finally looking up after the lockdown,” he adds.